Lifestyle and Prevention

Healthy lifestyle and prevention are keys to life-long wellness. In a society where poor diet and unhealthy lifestyles are becoming the norm, chronic disease is quickly becoming a huge problem. For the first time in two centuries, today’s children are expected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. This is a direct result of over-nutrition and under-activity, which increase the risk of developing Type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases.

In 2009 Health Canada estimated that diabetes alone would cost the Canadian Health Care System in excess of $17 billion dollars per year as of 2020. This estimation is now thought to be at least $2 billion short of the projected cost to Canadian tax payers for Type II Diabetes alone for 2020. This dramatic rise in the prevalence of this chronic disease and many others that are caused almost exclusively from poor choices can be drastically reduced or eliminated by implementing simple healthy lifestyle practices and diet choices.

Lifestyle factors that are fundamental to health are too easily overlooked in our fast pace environment. We take for granted the importance of sleep, stress reduction, exercise, proper hydration, and a healthy diet. Instead, we turn to the overly simplistic route of taking a pill to solve all of our problems. When we take a step back, we realize that our health is more important then the next deadline, and how we treat our bodies today directly influences how it functions tomorrow.

The importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle is emphasized at Optimum Integrative Health Centre, where we focus on long-term disease prevention. Regardless of your current health status, it is never too early or too late to reduce your risk factors. Through counselling and lifestyle modification, and incorporating our Health Optimization Program, our naturopathic doctors will help you create a healthy, enjoyable and sustainable lifestyle that will aid in your goal of reaching optimal health and wellness.